Oneal Moore (1931 – June 2, 1965) was the first African-American deputy

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

for the

Washington Parish Washington Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Washington'') is a parish located in the interior southeast corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana, one of the Florida Parishes. As of the 2010 census, the population was 47,168. Its parish seat is Fra ...

Sheriff's Office in Varnado, Louisiana. He was murdered on June 2, 1965, by alleged members of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

in a drive-by shooting, one year and a day after his landmark appointment as deputy sheriff. An Army veteran, he was 34 years old, married, and the father of four daughters.

Events

The evening of June 2, 1965, Moore was driving home from work when an individual in a pickup truck shot at him and his partner, David Creed Rogers, another African-American deputy sheriff. Moore lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree, dying instantly from a gunshot wound to the head. Rogers suffered injuries, including to one eye, but survived the shooting and crash; he immediately broadcast a description of the vehicle, which he noted had a Confederate flag decal on its front bumper. Two suspects were arrested in Mississippi not long afterward. One was Ernest Ray McElveen, a known white supremacist. McElveen was represented by Baton Rouge, Louisiana, attorney Osier Brown. He later also represented the two men charged with

Clarence Triggs Clarence Triggs (1943 – July 30, 1966) was a married African-American bricklayer and veteran, who was murdered on July 30, 1966 in Bogalusa, Louisiana, about a month after participating in a civil rights march for voting. Two white men were arre ...

' murder the following year in 1966. The police filed no charges due to a lack of evidence and witnesses. The cold case was reopened by the FBI several times, first in 1990, then in 2001 and 2007, but they did not bring indictments.BBC - ''FBI reopens file on race hate murders''
/ref> McElveen, the prime suspect in the case, died in 2003. The Deacons for Defense and Justice, an African-American group with a chapter organized in 1965 in Bogalusa, Louisiana, among other chapters, to protect civil rights workers, provided armed protection and support for Moore's widow and family.Alison Shay, "On This Day: The Courage of Deputies Moore and Rogers"
, 2 June 2012, ''The Long Civil Rights Movement'' website

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Oneal 1931 births 1965 deaths 1965 murders in the United States American police officers killed in the line of duty Deaths by firearm in Louisiana Deaths by person in Louisiana June 1965 events in the United States 1965 in Louisiana Victims of the Ku Klux Klan Male murder victims Murdered African-American people People from Washington Parish, Louisiana People murdered in Louisiana Racially motivated violence against African Americans Unsolved murders in the United States Ku Klux Klan in Louisiana

Events

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